What's Up

So it's been awhile and it's time for an update.
What does the old farmer do in December?

Last week on Wednesday I attended the Illinois C.L.M.T. Workshop. Every three years I have to re-certify as a Certified Livestock Manager in order to legally raise hogs in the state. Why, I don't know, but I'm legal again. I'm sure that it makes a big difference to the hogs that I have a piece of paper hanging on the wall of my office.

On Thursday, we went to my chemist daughter's NCAR family Christmas party. It was potluck, so I was a little hesitant to eat food in a laboratory prepared by chemists and bio-chemists, but it was all good. The highlight was the tour of her lab - it looks like a real mad scientists lab. She even has a cubicle that looked to me like a great place to take naps.

Monday was one of the coldest days yet. I don't think the temperature got much above 11 or 12 degrees all day. And I spent the whole day outside. In the morning we sorted and moved hogs out of a hoop building, and in the afternoon I was cleaning out a hoop building and making a very large pile of organic fertilizer. It was so cold I had to take a hot chocolate break in the middle of the afternoon.

On Monday night was daughter #2's Christmas Choral Concert. She looked nice in her new, black formal dress. The choirs all did very well and the Christmas music was beautiful, especially Silent Night by candlelight.

Tuesday I went to a seed company meeting at the new Embassy Suites Conference Center. It was an informative meeting with a free meal (of course). It was snowing by the time the meeting was out, so I decided that after supper it would be a good time to go out Christmas shopping. It was, the stores were not crowded at all! I got the gifts that I was sent out to buy, so it was worth it. It was a little treacherous driving around, but we made it.

Wednesday morning we shipped hogs to market, then I spent the day at the Illinois Farm Economics Summit. It's put on by the U of I for Ag bankers, farm managers, and old farmers. Another farm meeting meal.

Today was a beautiful winter day, so I spent the morning adding to the organic fertilizer pile. In the afternoon we moved machinery around and tucked everything in the sheds in preparation for the forecast ice storm. It doesn't appear that we will be able to finish the rest of the tillage that we wanted to do, so I guess all of the equipment is put away for the winter. Except the equipment needed to apply the organic fertilizer.

For in this mountain shall the hand of the LORD rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill.
Isaiah 25:10